Because I Said So
by coffeelatte
Summary: Growing up with an older brother like Sanada Genichiro had effectively turned her adolescence into a trip to the sixth ring of hell. Sanada thinks that every eye roll from his baby sister means he's doing the right thing in this journey of parenthood - but perhaps he shouldn't have assigned Kirihara to tutor her in tennis. KiriharaOC. Rising Ambitions-verse. Gift for fyerigurl.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** LOL. YES. I just keep cranking out new stories, omg. Don't kill me. LOL. But – this is a 'companion fic' to my YukimuraOC story, **Rising Ambitions**, as it will be set in the same timeline and universe.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** I know, I know. Sanada Genichiro does _not_ have a little sister – I also know that stories that conjure up fictional siblings for canons often end up having an infestation of Mary Sues. However, I hope that I can carry across that I actually wanted there to be a little sister for Sanada because I thought it would be amusing in and of itself – the trials of a girl who grows up with _Sanada_ as an older brother. LOL. I hope that you guys will give my story a chance, and that I can prove to you that this isn't your average, run-of-the-mill canon-sibling fic. 8D

It's also a canonOC fic, not just sibling-ship. 8D (It's me, coffee, guys. What did you expect.) In fact, the main _premise_ of this story will be the KiriharaOC plot – however, it will still have strong moments of Sanada siblingry; the first chapter, however, will seem heavily sibling-oriented, just because it's the opening.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PoT.

* * *

**PRELUDE.**

Growing up with an older brother wasn't easy. No, scratch that. Growing up with _Sanada Genichiro_ for an older brother was the nightmare from hell. In fact, it was the nightmares her _nightmares_ had.

Sanada Hanako was, for all intents and purposes, an average sixteen year old Japanese female. She liked to shop whenever the opportunity presented itself (in all her free time, really), had a habit of frequenting that café on the corner of the street with an abundance of pretty boy waiters, and had an undying love for various J-Pop idols.

The siblings came from a family that was, for all intents and purposes, normal. Of course, they did tend to be just the _slightest bit_ old-fashioned in that they lived in a traditional, Japanese-styled house, and they had a grandfather patriarch who was a _little more_ than what people would usually call 'traditional.'

Still.

None of those factors could have explained the unholy spawn that _Sanada Genichiro_ had grown to be, all on his own.

Their always-sighing mother thinks it may have something to do with their grandfather – the same man who, in his seventies, still hopped about teaching _kendo_ to the Japanese _police force._ Or perhaps their father, a polished government employee with an affinity for running his household like the marines' headquarters.

Hanako had grown up with the realization that she didn't need parents around to reign her in and control her fun and make sure that she was growing up into a dependable,_ boring_ adult – because Genichiro-nii-san was around to make _sure_ that she was all that, and _worse._

She should have known, really, from the day that nii-san had shown up to her _parent-teacher conference_ instead of her mother, only to chastise her for three hours afterwards, back when she was in seventh grade.

Genichiro-nii-san _still_ performed his own version of a 'uniform check' each and every morning. His was far stricter than the teachers at school.

The only point in her life where he'd actually stepped back in his role of assumed parenthood was when Hanako had had her first period – and Hanako still can't forget the way he'd _attempted_ to walk with her through it through biological, scientific explanations and _diagrams_ he'd printed off of the internet in an impromptu lecture.

Hanako had actually thought having Genichiro for an older brother might have, just maybe, an actual _upside_, when he first brought home his old childhood friend, Yukimura Seiichi – who was all beautiful smiles and delicate, gentle manners.

But nii-san found out about her crush and soon put an end to _that_, too, rest assured.

The two times afterwards when Hanako had found herself a boyfriend? Well, let's just say that _those_ relationships didn't exactly last long enough for her to receive her first kiss.

Junior high had been a trip through the sixth ring of hell, no questions needed.

Hanako had always known that her older brother was 'good' at tennis. She had not, however, known that somehow, he'd earned himself a psychotic nickname as "one of the three demon generals," along with _that_ smiling Seiichi and some other third year. She'd found out, though, the first day of her first year of junior high attending Rikkai Dai – whereupon at the name 'Sanada,' her classmates began to give her a wide three meter radius.

And after _that_ debacle had ended, she was flagged down by the girls' tennis team members for _two weeks_ to join the tennis team.

Hanako, by the way, had never even _seen_ a tennis match, much less play.

The girls on the tennis team refused to believe that 'the younger sister of _that_ Sanada doesn't play tennis.'

And after two years of "Sanada, good job on this report – did your brother help you?" and "Sanada, not so good; maybe you can ask your brother for help." to the "Hanako-chan, Hanako-chan, can I come over to your house today? Or- well, is your older brother home?" it was needless to say that Sanada Hanako was fed. up. with being "Sanada Genichiro's younger sister."

So who could blame her when it came for the time to ascend into high school, Hanako was willing to go to any school – any – but Rikkai Dai? Nii-san hadn't approved, because, according to him, he needed to be around in order to make sure she stayed out of trouble.

But Hanako had gone behind his back and practically _groveled_ to their mother – who had, subsequently, enrolled her in a quiet, peaceful high school far enough from Rikkai Dai that people there didn't know about Sanada Genichiro.

It was a good thing, too, because last time she'd heard, he'd caused _another_ ruckus at school by claiming captaincy of the tennis team as a second year.

Ugh.

* * *

Three voices – all female – giggled over one another, accompanied with the clack of girlish heels and scuffles as they bumped into one another playfully on their way into the house. Hanako slipped through the front door and allowed her shoes to clatter onto the floor, abandoned carelessly, before breezing down the hallway with a haphazard "I'm home!" shouted to whomever may be inside.

"Hey, hey, Hanako- where's your older brother?" one of the girls asked, following closely behind her friend.

"Yeah! My boyfriend said that he's _super amazing_ at tennis," the third girl chorused.

Hanako blanched. Emi's boyfriend was on the tennis team – and after he'd seen her older brother play at some tournament, and somehow, miraculously connected that _her_ Sanada and _his_ Sanada were one and the same, she hadn't heard the end of it from him.

Right. As if Hanako would invite her friends over when nii-san was home. No thank you.

"He's not home right now. He has tennis practice after school-"

"Hanako."

Hanako froze. Well, her insides froze; unfortunately, her feet took another few stumbled steps backward, as they failed to catch up with her brain. She'd been walking backwards down the hall in order to face her friends – and now, she found her back colliding with a sturdy surface behind her.

Rough hands came to steady her shoulders.

"…Hi, nii-san."

With a mustered smile (that looked more like a cringe, if she was going to be honest) Hanako turned around, and almost bumped noses with her brother's chest. She took a step back. Genichiro looked down at her with his usual stony expression, only glancing away to briefly look over her two friends; he relaxed once he affirmed that yes, they were both of the _female_ variety.

"Don't you have practice?"

Genichiro's eyes returned to Hanako's gaze – a mixture of disappointed surprise and discomfort.

"It was cancelled for today. The courts are being washed."

"Oh."

Several seconds flew by in a sort of awkward, muted silence, with Hanako attempting to twist a ribbon of her dark hair around her finger. "Well. I'm going to go to my room now-"

"Aa."

Hanako had to practically pry her still-gaping, awed friends down the hall to her room.

Genichiro stepped nimbly forward and with surprising gentleness, carefully aligned his little sister's shoes to align with the neat row of the rest of the family's shoes.

* * *

Genichiro didn't _mean_ to exasperate his little sister all the time – in fact, he didn't understand half the eye rolls he received from her, anyway. Ah, well, he'd read in one parenting book that "every eyeroll means you're doing something right;" if that was true, he could easily claim the championship title of 'best parent in the universe.'

He was the type of person who naturally felt the weight of responsibility, no matter the situation. As the vice-captain, he'd helmed the team and taken it upon himself to preserve their excellence until Seiichi returned. As the only and first son of the family, it was his duty to uphold honor for the household, to display exemplary results.

As an elder brother, it was his responsibility, his duty, his job, to ensure that Hanako grew up healthy, disciplined and safe.

He'd met a bit of a stumbling block that one phase in her life where she suddenly started growing _shapely_ and started _that female thing_, but other than that, he liked to think that he did a pretty good job.

Genichiro had adopted his father's genes – the two were very, almost strikingly, alike in appearances: rigid nose, bow-shaped lips, wide foreheads and chiseled features. Very much unattractive features for a _girl_. Respectable, strong features for a boy.

It was lucky for Hanako then, that she looked like her mother, he supposed. He and his sister shared the same inky black hair – of course, Hanako had grown hers out (a little too long for his tastes, if anyone asked) to her waist, pin-straight locks and a smooth forehead bared by an absence of bangs. She'd tried a perm, once, and it had been _disastrous_.

She'd looked like the family poodle.

Unlucky for him, because if his sister were unappealing, then he wouldn't have to worry about fending off unsavory boys. He'd liked that one period where she'd had that perm. There had been much less male attention to worry about.

When Genichiro had said such to Hanako, once, she'd refused to speak to him for an entire week.

It had been very hard to conduct uniform checks and homework reviews when she _refused to speak to him._

But like every other hurdle in parenthood, Genichiro took it all in stride.

Pesky teenage adolescence. He hoped she'd grow out of it soon.

* * *

Hanako knew Genichiro-nii-san had good intentions.

During junior high, she'd wished every single day that by some freak accident, it turned out that they _weren't_ really related. Every time she caught a glimpse of them in a photo together, or in the mirror, though, it'd turn too hard to pretend they weren't related – not when identical genetics screamed from their faces.

Hanako didn't look like nii-san at all – at least, she didn't look like a stony mask of a man; she was every bit as feminine and _pretty_, as most other girls in school. Still, though. They shared the same pitch black hair, the same almond-shaped eyes, the same skin- well. Nii-san used to be pale like her, until he tanned everything out with _tennis._

She was over it, now. A little. Not really.

It had gotten bearable, though, when she finally escaped to a school where there _wasn't_ an enormous fanclub dedicated to worshipping her older brother. It was still the same strict regime when she came home, but at least at school, she was able to escape it all.

She understood that her brother had the best intentions at heart – but really, he was _only one year older._ Of course, the gap in their maturity levels was far larger, but still; he acted as though he were her grandfather, at times, and it had become ridiculous at this point.

She was almost _seventeen years old_. She did not, contrary to her brother and father's belief, need a babysitter. Or three parents.

_Knock knock._

That was nii-san's knocking.

Hanako hurried to stash her diary underneath her pillow, and straightened up upon her bed. "Yeah?"

Her brother's head peeked through the door. "Father's requested we assemble in the living room."

"Okay."

A pause.

"Aren't you coming?"

Right. Right. She needed him to escort her down to the living room too, because god forbid she actually walk a few meters without being watched. With a sigh, Hanako trudged to the door and rolled her eyes as she flitted past Genichiro.

Genichiro blinked.

He must be _really_ good at this parenting stuff.

* * *

Hanako nodded along absentmindedly – her attention was far more drawn by the delicious, gleaming red cherries that had been set out in the bowl in front of them. Then again, she was always interested by anything _other_ than her parents rambling, almost all the time. Nii-san, though, was at strict attention.

Their grandfather – their mother's father – had been ailing for a long while, now. She'd been worried at first, but with such a long time passing, it had gradually dulled to just another natural 'state' of her affairs. Her grandfather was sick, and he would be; she couldn't exactly spend every moment of every day fretting about it for the rest of her life, could she?

It seemed that their parents, and their grandfather, would be making a trip over to visit him – he resided in an area far in the countryside, more than several hours by plane away. Normally, Hanako would have been enthralled that their parents would be absent for months on end.

However, she had _Genichiro_ as an older brother, and he was strict enough for an entire _legion_ of parents.

So all in all, this was a very dull conversation that really, shouldn't have taken so much time-

"-so we want you to transfer to Rikkai Dai."

Somewhere in the distance, Hanako heard something _shattering_ – and simultaneously, her heart seemed to stop beating altogether. "…What?"

"With us gone for so long, we don't feel good about sending you to a school with no parental guidance there."

Hanako's eyes slowly widened until they _ached_. "…I'm not a baby, dad-"

"You'll _always_ be our baby. And Hanako, your record doesn't exactly assure us, either."

So alright, she wasn't the _perfect_ child that nii-san was. And alright, she had an excessive number of tardies from oversleeping (her brother had morning practice and left an hour earlier than she did – so he couldn't watch over _that)_. And, oh, _alright_, she wasn't the best at keeping all her belongings together all the time, but-

"You can't just make me _transfer_," she finally spluttered. "It's the middle of the year!"

"Well, your first quarter is just about ending – so if any, this would be a perfect time to make your transition to another school," she heard her brother say, and wanted to _scream._

"It's not like I'm _living_ at school – and nii-san's here when I get home! I don't-"

"We'd just feel better about leaving you two alone for months, if you had Genichiro around if anything happened. If something happens at your other school, then without us there, you wouldn't have anyone around until Genichiro finished school, dear."

Hanako's jaw dropped.

"But my _friends_-"

"-will stay your friends. Besides. Rikkai Dai is a prestigious school, and if you hadn't been so childishly stubborn on going to some random school, you'd have gone there anyway. Okaa-san feels so much better about everything this way."

"I'll take good care of Hanako, mother, father. Have a safe trip."

"Oh, Genichiro. So dependable, my son."

Hanako wanted to scream.

* * *

_Knock knock._

For a crazy moment, Hanako considered ignoring it entirely. But then, knowing her brother, he'd probably enter anyway, thinking she'd suffocated herself to death. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah?"

Genichiro entered the moment she'd managed to utter her response, and swiftly, but gently, closed the door behind him.

He, Hanako noted drily, ought to enter the military forces. He'd be perfect for it.

Genichirou paused by the door, as though unsure of what to do. When Hanako raised her brows, he seemed to make a decision, and came to sit stiffly beside her on her bed. "Are you upset?" he asked quietly.

Hanako snorted and rolled her eyes.

But then, she caught the glimmer of worry in his eyes, and sighed. She wanted to be mad at him, but it was always hard – especially when he was so obviously looking out for her, and expressed genuine concern. "Yes," she answered anyway. "But it's not your fault."

"I know it's not."

Hanako eyed him flatly. "I'll be okay," she finally sighed. "It's not that big of a deal, transferring schools. Whatever."

She caught the barely-perceptible quirk of his lips. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're clothed and fed well-"

…Once again, he'd _entirely _missed the point.

With a groan, Hanako dove under her pillow. "Just go away, nii-san," she moaned.

Genichiro, with one last firm nod to Hanako, left the room, once again affirmed that he was doing the right job with his parenting.

* * *

Much to her horror, the transfer papers had only taken _four days_ to be processed – and their parents had another _week_ before they departed. If they asked her, she'd surely received the severely short end of the stick, here.

And because Genichiro was _Genichiro_, he took this wholesome opportunity as a chance to walk his sister to school and back home, and if she didn't know better, she'd say that he was _delighted_ about the whole thing. Well, as 'delighted' as Genichiro was capable of.

_That_ meant Hanako had to wake up at _five bleeding A.M._, because her brother's practice started at six – two entire hours before school even began.

The idea of having Sanada Genichiro as a brother never stopped pitting her into the deeper and darker levels of hell.

"Turn."

Hanako stood presently at attention before Genichiro, arms held out in straight lines at her side, until her body formed a perfect 'T.' Rikkai Dai's fresh new uniform hung on her figure, her bag at her side; her brother's eyes inspected her sharply from head to toe.

"Your hair is still too long, Hanako."

Hanako pursed her lips. "Well that's not part of the dress code, nii-san."

With a grunt, her brother muttered "Turn."

Hanako obediently turned so that he could inspect her back.

"Rotate."

Hanako dutifully revolved herself in a perfect 360 degree circle.

"Ribbon."

She glanced down. Her ribbon was slightly askew – not for lack of trying on her part, but Hanako doubted that _ribbon alignment_ was going to be a factor at her school. "Nii-san, I tried, but this ribbon just won't tie straight-"

In a matter of a few seconds, Genichiro had reached out to deftly undo and re-tie her ribbon – perfectly, until it could have been used as a model image for all other ribbons to follow in its wake.

Hanako rolled her eyes.

Genichiro felt a sense of renewed satisfaction.

"Let's go."

* * *

The moment Hanako stepped into the tennis court area through the metal fence, she was sure: she'd somehow stepped out of reality, and into the fourth ring of blazing hell.

An unsavory _dead silence_ followed her entrance into the courts, wherein the seven boys in the courts – some playing, some lounging about – stared at her through wide, wide eyes. Hanako thought she saw Yukimura-kun somewhere, eyeing her curiously, before flitting his attention back to Sanada.

Genichiro, easily ignoring the gaping silence that seemed to have fallen following his and his sister's entrance, directed her to sit at the bleachers directly beside the court with the most boys in them. Hanako wanted to inform him that some of his teammates seemed to be staring at her as though she were the goddamned Easter Bunny here with a basket of eggs, but he was never really receptive to listening to her at all.

The moment Hanako's bottom landed on the bleachers, everyone seemed to _explode._

* * *

"…Is Sanada-fukubuchou with a girl?"

"Where?"

"There."

"…Is that a girl-"

"It's a girl!"

"Why is he with a girl?"

"Is the girl crying?"

"Why would she be crying-"

"Well I mean- if I was a girl, I'd cry if I was put in front of Sanada-fukubuchou."

"…Oh my god, he's bringing her _inside._"

"What?"

"No way-"

"OH MY GOD, JACKAL, SHE'S INSIDE THE COURTS."

"Ow, Bunta, stop, that hurts-"

"_Sanada brought a girl into the courts_-"

"Is she some test monkey for a new technique?"

"…Don't they look weirdly similar, standing next to each other like that-"

* * *

"Why are you all slacking off? Back to work!"

Hanako watched through dry eyes as her brother assumed direct command of the team. Funny – hadn't he said that his captain had returned just a short while ago? Ah, there: Yukimura-kun gave her a small nod of his head in recognition, and Hanako did the same.

He was as pretty as always, she sighed wistfully.

"But- Sanada- who is she?"

"Bunta, that is irrelevant to practice."

"But you _never_ let us bring girls inside the courts!"

"_Tarundarou_!"

Really, Hanako noted – she hadn't known her brother still screamed that in _public._ How embarrassing.

* * *

Needless to say, by the time morning practice was over, Hanako was quite sure that she never, ever, _ever_ wanted to sit in on one of her brother's practices again.

Hanako had never seen a tennis match before. She was a girl wholly uninterested in any sport of any kind, and she'd caught perhaps a minute or two of a match when her brother watched professional matches on television when the season was poignant.

However, even _she_ was rather sure that _this tennis wasn't normal._

It wasn't normal, for someone to start blabbering about _being unable to see_ in a match against Yukimura, ten minutes in.

It wasn't normal, for Yanagi-san to be able to say, out loud, what the opponent would do – seconds before the opponent _actually did it._ (She'd seen him at their house a couple of times, too, since middle school).

It wasn't normal for Hanako to somehow see one boy change _into another_ before her eyes, or for her to find a boy making a ball _roll along the netline_, or for her to see such a dark-skinned boy with seemingly endless stamina, playing _perfectly well_ for the entire two hours.

And it definitely, not even in the realms of hell, was normal for a boy to _turn into the devil_ before her eyes.

Red eyes, sharp fangs, and a monstrous sort of air to him that had Hanako's eyes bugging out of their sockets.

Hanako scanned the courts for her brother, then – which turned out to be a mistake. Because her brother was _one of them_, too.

A monster.

Hanako's complexion turned ashen. She lived with a monster. Her older brother – the annoying, nagging, stone-faced, helplessly oblivious to all things female – was a certifiable _creature from hell._

Oh, god.

* * *

**A/N:** Yep. I did it. LOL.

This story will be a KiriharaOC story – it is also going to be a Sanada-sibling fic. It may seem in this first chapter that its entirely a sibling fic, but that's just because I needed to establish this for the story to start – which is why I'm going to say this first chapter is a _prelude_. 8Db

I'm still a bit shaky as to how this is going, so I'd really appreciate some feedback / thoughts on what you think so far. 8)

* * *

READ. REVIEW. LOVE?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hello, readers! Thank you so much for the positive feedback on the last chapter – it was very much encouraging, especially since I hadn't known how this story would be received by my readers, hehe. 8D Here's the next story, my lovelies – more Kirihara in here, ohoho.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** This story is set in the universe of Rising Ambitions – and for those unfamiliar with the story, this means that this is currently set in _high school_. Sanada is in his second year of Rikkai Dai High School, after graduating from junior high, along with all the other regulars; Kirihara is now a first year, as is Hanako.

I've replied to the reviews that were left in the first chapter, if you guys were signed in - I really do try and love responding to all the reviews I get, so please try to log in and leave a review, so that I could respond! 8D

**FYERIGURL**: If you guys noticed from the summary, I'm writing this story as a gift fic to my lovely friend, fyeri-gurl - who also happens to have one of _the most_ brilliant OC fics in the Prince of Tennis fandom, called 'To Catch a Falling Star.' It's a wonderfully-written all-girls team story, so be sure to check her out!

**Dislcaimer:** I do not own PoT.

* * *

"Why did you go home without me?"

The fair, dark-haired girl in front of him paused, knife stilling momentarily over the apple slice it had been about to further cut. Hanako allowed her gaze to flicker once from the apple on the cutting board in front of her, to her brother, who had just arrived home after a two hour long tennis practice. She pursed her lips.

With a forceful _thump_, Hanako sliced through the fruit.

"…Hanako."

At _that_ tone, Hanako sighed explosively and set aside her knife.

There were _many_ reasons she'd left for home on her own that day.

Reason one: she didn't exactly fancy waiting around for two hours, in the blistering sun, for her brother to finish his psychotic activity that was, apparently, called 'tennis practice. Reason two: Hanako had just barely managed to make a new friend that day, who had suggested that they walk home together since it was in the same direction. Reason three: Hanako didn't exactly _like_ being walked everywhere by her brother, as though she needed a baby sitter.

And skipping over the other fifty reasons Hanako could dredge up in her mind, she landed upon the main – reason fifty four: Hanako wasn't exactly sure how she felt about the fact that earlier today, she'd found out her brother could very well be some alien creature from flaming hell, sent here to destroy earth armed with nothing but a tennis racket and a stone-still face.

Alright, so perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration. Nonetheless, Hanako had still yet to wrap her head around the scene that had unfolded just that morning. She hadn't even _known_ those kinds of crazy things were _possible_ with a racket and a tennis ball – the fact that she'd lived under the same roof as one of the _leaders_ of all those monsters was unsettling.

Now Hanako understood the queer nickname she'd often heard throughout junior high: the demon generals.

Oh, god.

"I just- I didn't feel like waiting for you, okay?" she managed, and forcefully sliced the next piece of apple. Though her eyes remained fixated upon the apple and knife, she could practically _hear_ her brother frowning deeply.

"But it's dangerous."

Hanako rolled her eyes. "We're in a nice neighborhood in a gated community, nii-san. Our school is less than a fifteen minute walk away – I'm fine."

"Wait for me tomorrow."

Hanako's lips flattened into a wry line. She resumed cutting the apple into small slices; a few minutes later, she paused when she realized that her brother had yet to leave the kitchen. She peered at him beneath the bright, warm lights, and couldn't help the quirk of her lips when she noticed his stare.

She picked up a slice with slender fingers, and held it up to his eyes.

Genichiro took the slice silently, before sweeping out of the kitchen.

Hanako rolled her eyes. He had never been too adept at communicating his feelings – even the small things, like _asking for an apple slice._

* * *

Later that night, when Genichiro walked by his sister's room – as he did each and every evening right before he went to sleep, just to affirm that she was alright – he would overhear the strangest phone call.

"Okaa-san," he heard faintly through the door. Hanako's voice sounded strained and hushed all at once – as though she were trying to keep her voice down. "Just tell me the truth, already- No, nothing happened, I just need to know-"

Genichiro's brow furrowed.

"Are you sure? Nii-san and I are _really_ biologically related?"

A pause.

"I mean- you didn't like, find him at our doorstep, or anything, left by, I don't know, some creatures from another planet? Are you sure you gave birth to him?"

…

"Or I mean what if you grabbed the wrong baby at the hospital, all those years ago? For either of us, I mean."

Genichiro stilled completely. The parenting books had never gone over what to do in _this_ situation – and as of the moment, he was at a rather complete loss of how to proceed. Was it, he wondered, some sort of identity crisis that teens typically went through? Another angsty episode in this never-ending chronicle of teenage woes? Another pause.

Resolving to take a visit to the bookstore for a few more parenting guides, Genichiro decided that perhaps tonight, he'd better cut his losses and call it a night. He made his presence known by knocking softly on her door before entering, and with his routine "Good night, Hanako. I'm down the hall if you need me," he continued quietly to his own room.

Behind him, he heard the frustrated moan of his baby sister.

* * *

A week later found Hanako rather nicely adjusted to her new school – or rather, as nicely adjusted as she'd be for another while.

Hanako was a cheerful girl, despite the way she seemed to be taken down a notch around her brother's presence. Though, with a guardian figure like Sanada Genichiro, she figured that most people would tend to quiet down around him; around her own peers, Hanako joked and laughed easily and comfortably, and during her first week, she'd managed to secure a new group of girlfriends to call her own.

She figured that she'd give nii-san a little while to adjust, before she went and started befriending _boys_, because that always tended to give him small ruptures in his brain.

Hanako fell into a routine of walking with her brother an hour early to school for his tennis practice, whereupon she'd attempt to sleep on the bleachers, or try not to oogle at the tennis team. She'd already spent the first four days looking like a complete freak, with wide eyes and gaping lips, that Yukimura-san had once stopped by to laugh quietly at her expression. It wasn't her fault, she wanted to say, that they all played tennis in some magical world that defied all laws of physics and gravity.

During school, she'd attempt to interact with her brother as little as possible, just because he was already harping her about maintaining grades and being careful of associating with the good crowd, and everything in between. She'd try to fend off as many "Oh my god, are you related to _that_ Sanada-kun?" questions (they'd lessened as time went on), giggled with her new friends over the new J-Pop idol, and when it was time to go home, she'd dutifully report to the tennis courts.

She'd make a show of sitting on the bleachers and waiting for him, and in the next available moment (usually when someone on the team made a ruckus, or nii-san started a practice match), she'd high-tail it home on her own, much to Genichiro's chagrin.

When he got home, though, she'd have an apple sliced into thin, neat, bunny-eared pieces, and he'd momentarily push off berating her for leaving without him to pay attention to the fruit. By the time he remembered to discipline her, she'd already run into her room.

* * *

Another week passed in relative peace.

Their parents had departed the week before to visit their ailing grandfather, and despite the lack of parental supervision, Genichiro provided enough order in the house for Hanako to feel even _more_ restraint than when their parents had been at home.

Hanako, who had steadily taken cooking lessons from their mother since she'd been old enough to realize that cooking was girly and fun when done well, usually was in charge of making dinner, and when she woke up early enough, lunches for both of them. At first, nii-san had attempted to take care of the food – but contrary to his seemingly all-perfect abilities, he was terribly _male_ about it all, and Hanako had endured three days of burnt noodles and soggy rice and _green eggs_ (how the fuck anybody turned eggs green was beyond her) before she'd declared herself the chef until their parents returned.

Of course, she never got up early enough to make breakfast, leaving it to the fumbling hands of Genichiro. If it were up to her, she'd rather not try to digest food so early in the morning; but nii-san had lectured her about maintaining her energy and starting the day off right and all that other hubba bubba, until Hanako had snatched the toast from his hand with a roll of her eyes and stuffed it into her mouth.

She could swear she saw a satisfactory gleam in his eyes when he saw her roll her eyes, and she hadn't been sure what to make of it.

Nii-san continued his Spartan uniform checks each morning, and Hanako continued to dodge afternoon tennis practice with the offering of bunny-eared apple slices. Occasionally, Hanako would stop attempting to overthrow her older brother's household regime and Genichiro would pause in attempting to enforce prison-like rules upon his little sister for the two siblings to come together to watch a movie in the living room. Of course, the topic of _which_ movie to watch became a haggard, arduous source of debate, each and every time.

In this manner – between apples and green eggs and nii-san fixing her crooked uniform bow every morning – two weeks passed on, before tragedy first struck the Sanada household.

"Hanako. What is this?"

Hanako paused. She'd just begun to wash her hands at the kitchen sink in preparation for dinner procedures; she turned, and found Genichiro staring at her sternly, seated at the kitchen counter. He held a thin, yellow slip of paper in his hands. The remnants of today's mail were neatly aligned on the marble counter.

Hanako squinted at the paper, before shrugging. "I don't know. What is it?"

"It's your bi-weekly report."

Hanako paused. "…What's that?"

"Rikkai Dai sends out a report of your current academic grades every two weeks."

"Oh."

Hanako frowned, then. Not only was this an indicator for _future_ trouble (nii-san having such a frequent report of her grades could never be a good sign), but she wasn't quite sure why he'd have something to be upset with her for so early. After all, she'd only _been_ at the school for two weeks.

She'd kept up her studies, she was rather sure, given that Rikkai Dai's curriculum picked up smoothly where her last school had left of. That, and nii-san _always_ made sure her homework was done flawlessly each night.

"They aren't looking good, Hanako."

Hanako's frown deepened. "What are you talking about?" she sighed. She wrung her hands dry on her shirt, and snatched the paper out of his hands to read through the grades.

She had an A in arithmetic, history, and literature (really, her best subject, if anyone asked); a B in English, but she was sure nii-san would drill enough vocabulary into her head for her to bring it up, and in science; a C in physical education.

"What about them?" Her brother, as demanding as he was, didn't get too worked up over _B's_, not really. He did, when he saw more of them than A's, but for the most part, he was fine as long as she maintained a 'majority-A, minority-B' ratio.

"You have a C, Hanako." At this point, Genichiro's frown was so pronounced that Hanako could swear he was about to pop a blood vessel in his forehead.

"It's in P.E."

"I see that."

At his persistent look of disapproval, Hanako's lips parted in disbelief. "You're mad at me over a C in _P.E.?_"

Genichiro's frown grew two more wrinkles. "It's hardly a subject not to score well in- wasn't the junior class on the tennis unit at this time of the year?"

At Hanako's previous school, P.E. had been one of those areas that weren't treated seriously at all. The hour-long class consisted _mostly_ of running a few laps at the beginning, followed by a period of 'exercise on your own' – which meant that girls loitered around in giggles and feigned periods, while boys ran amok with basketballs and soccer balls. She'd been surprised to find that, at Rikkai Dai, Physical Education was taken _most_ seriously.

The class spent their time on rotations – they'd spend six weeks on one sport, learning the mechanics and the rules and the gameplay, then move on to another sport. The idea that P.E. was actually a serious grade baffled Hanako, and she hadn't exactly made a large effort to do well – it was physical education! Who took physical education seriously?

"I'm just bad at sports, nii-san."

"You're bad at science, too, but you don't score C's, Hanako."

"But that's because you tutor me in science!" Hanako blurted – only to realize, with a quickly paling complexion, that perhaps she shouldn't have said it in this manner. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Hanako gazed apprehensively upon her brother's face, and realized that he realized what she'd just said, to, because the next thing from his lips was-

"Then I'll tutor you in tennis, too. It won't be a problem."

Oh, god.

Images replayed in her mind – images of her brother's so-called 'tennis.'

Her brother, who'd swung easily, comfortably at a tennis ball – then watched with all semblance of perfect normality as it bounced so hard off the courts, that it _imbedded itself in the metal gates._ Of her brother, swinging his arm so quickly that Hanako could swear she'd seen it completely disappear, along with the ball he shot across the net.

The last, burning image, of her brother holding a racket whose _strings had snapped_ with the force of how hard he'd hit the ball.

Oh, god.

Hanako had just barely managed to overcome her brother's horrific athleticism in these past two weeks. And that was _after_ phoning their parents repeatedly, in an attempt to find out whether this whole thing was a sham, and that nii-san actually _was _an alien baby that had been sent to destroy this planet, with a tennis racket as his weapon. He wasn't, their parents had said, but Hanako still reserved full judgment on that theory.

Because if her alien theory was correct, it would explain so many things.

She couldn't learn tennis from him. She could hardly stand to be around the courts when he was playing tennis, in sheer disbelief and fear that one of the balls would accidentally hurtle her way – there was no way in flaming hell that she'd _ever_ allow herself to be 'taught' tennis by him.

This was the brother who drilled English vocabulary words into her head, as though he were the national guard's drill sergeant, and the fate of the Japanese race hinged solely upon her ability to learn those words. And that was _English._

Her parents would be returning to her bloodied corpse, if she learned tennis from nii-san.

"No." She spoke the single word flatly, in a tone that left no room for discussion.

"Yes."

Not that the end of the discussion was ever hers to decide upon.

"No."

"Hanako, I cannot allow you to carry on these dismal grades-"

"Nii-san." Hanako looked up at Genichiro, lips set into that deep, stubborn pout he was so accustomed to. "I will literally shave your head, and _mine_, before I learn tennis from _you._ You are the last person in this entire _galaxy_ that I will ever, ever, ever learn tennis from."

Hanako had used the word 'galaxy,' instead of 'planet,' on the off-chance that her alien theory was real.

Genichiro had to pause. For one, Hanako had always been opposed to his tutoring her in whatever subject she struggled with; it was the typical teenage supremacy and rebellious nature. But she'd never been quite so vehement, no, and he could only blink owlishly at this sudden outburst. He briefly pondered the possibility that perhaps she was on _that_ time of the month; he quickly discarded the idea on the recollection that she'd had it last week.

So. If it wasn't a female thing-

Genichiro sighed. Hanako so did make things complicated. He wasn't very sure why she was so against learning tennis from him, given that it was such an obvious solution, considering their close relationship, as well as his own skill in the sport. Still.

Committing Hanako to something she didn't want to do was always a process much like pulling teeth, and he'd already exerted himself earlier today in talking her out of wearing that disastrously short skirt out to the movies with her friends.

Sanada Genichiro knew how to pick and choose his battles.

Normally, he wouldn't 'pick and choose' at all, and would surge on with his powerful presence and win every single battle, damn strategy and all. But Hanako was a surprisingly tough opponent, armed with the ability to slice apples into bunny-eared pieces, a pleading look she'd learned how to use since she was four – one that all females of the Sanada household used, with varying degrees of success, on all males of the household, and a hellish stubborn streak to her nature that he didn't know _who_ she inherited from.

Let it be said that Genichiro had yet to realize that he, too, shared this same telltale trait of adamant stubbornness.

In the face of Hanako's teenage, rebellious streak and bullheaded insistence on defying him at every chance available – and Hanako didn't give _two shits_ that he was Sanada Goddamn Genichiro, Demon General and Supreme Vice Captain of the Rikkai Dai Tennis Team, which made things harder – even the great leader Genichiro was forced to pick and choose which battles he pursued.

After all, he'd much rather protect her chastity and forbid her from wearing that flap of fabric teenagers dared to call _clothing_ nowadays, than tutor her in tennis.

Because Hanako had only said she wouldn't learn tennis from _him_, and Genichiro happened to know several people with the qualifications of teaching her the sport.

In fact, he knew an entire team.

"Alright."

Hanako snapped her gaze to him, then, dark eyes wide and round in a poignant mix of disbelief and apprehension and marvel. Nii-san never simply acquiesced-

"If you won't learn tennis from me, I will acquire you another tutor – because you _will_ start additional lessons, and bring your grade up in P.E. No negotiations."

There was that telltale tone of finality in his voice that Hanako had come to know well in the past sixteen years. Still, the proud adolescent in her nature refused to back down from even a fight she knew she'd already lost.

"Nii-san! It's freaking P.E.! Who gets tutored in physical education?!"

Genichiro's answering gaze was stony. "Those who receive C's in this so-called 'freaking P.E.'"

At that, Hanako froze, lips opening and closing as though she were looking for a response. But of course, she failed to find one that would work on her brother. With a frustrated shriek and a dramatic roll of her eyes, she stomped off to her room, abandoning dinner preparations.

The two ate green eggs for supper that night.

* * *

"So, Hana-chan."

"Mm?"

Hanako answered around a bright pink straw, which was currently dipped in a pretty glass cup of a swirling yellow juice. Still in their uniforms, she and a few girl friends had ventured to a nearby café after school.

"What's it like? You know – having _Sanada-kun_ as an older brother?"

Hanako's expression soured. She had yet to forgive him for the tennis tutor incident of last night.

The friend beside her giggled. "You always get that cross look whenever we bring him up."

"Yeah," another girl agreed. "You're being silly. I'd die happy if I could come home everyday to Sanada-kun's dreamy face."

Hanako set her cup down with a huff, only mildly choking on her drink. "First off, _gross._ That's my _brother_ you're talking about – who, by the way, isn't that good looking-" She ignored the round of protests that her friends gave. "And second, _I'm_ also 'Sanada-kun' – so stop calling him that all the time. It's giving me the creeps."

She was nudged to the side by Mina. "Well, he's Sanada-kun to us, and you're Hana-chan – so deal with it."

Hanako rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, though, what's it like?"

Hanako seriously doubted that they'd all be so envious if they knew that her brother was like a rampant dictator, who demanded top grades and the clothing state of a practical nun, who insisted upon walking her to and from school as though she were a ticking time bomb – that he was the strict overlord who insisted upon conducting uniform checks each morning, as well as reviewing all her schoolwork before she turned it in.

That he cooked fucking _green eggs_.

But then, Hanako only sighed, and with a miserable groan, leaned huffily into her chair. "If you really want to know, it's like living in a freaking Dr. Seuss book."

Her girl friends stared at her blankly.

* * *

For a moment, the boys of the tennis team stared upon their vice-captain with carefully silent, blank looks.

And then, Marui broke the silence: "…What?" accompanied with the _pop!_ of his bubblegum.

"My baby sister is currently receiving a C on the tennis unit of her physical education class-"

Insert a snort from Kirihara, and a snicker from Niou. Both were silenced with a stern glare from Sanada.

"-and claims that she'd rather lose both of our hair, than learn tennis from me."

This time, Yagyuu and Renji joined the other two in a round of laughter. Sanada's brow twitched.

"For reasons I cannot fathom, she will not take me as her tutor – but the girl needs a tennis tutor, whether or not that is me. So. One of you must be her tutor."

At once, all regulars took a precautionary step backwards, as though it would somehow render them immune from Sanada's selection. From beside Sanada, Yukimura laughed softly.

After a week of agonizing curiosity, whereupon Kirihara had shot Hanako dark looks as she watched practice, as though he could _sense_ who she was just by looking at her, and Marui had whined constantly to Sanada whenever he go the chance, the regulars had been informed of the identity of the 'mystery girl.' Yukimura, who was well acquainted with Sanada's younger sister, had only smiled in that mysterious way of his, and walked away whenever asked with a flutter of his tennis jersey upon his shoulders. No one doubted that Renji, too, knew who she was, though he respected Sanada's silence enough to leave it up to his discretion to reveal the family lineage.

Sanada had caved last Wednesday, when Niou had promptly turned himself into Hanako. Sanada was far beyond falling for _that_ trick anymore, but he'd been so disturbed by watching Niou turn himself into his little sister, that he'd promptly roared "It's my little sister, you wretches," before ordering an overwhelming number of laps to all regulars.

Renji had taken that incident as some sort of permission to suddenly release _all_ the information on Sanada Hanako upon the regulars, who had been ridiculously eager to learn it all. After all, Kirihara had had a running theory that somebody like Sanada fuku-buchou didn't actually have a family, or a normal origin – that the universe had randomly _spurted _him out in a mass of power and discipline. So of course, the idea that he actually _did_ have a family somewhere, along with a _baby sister_, was like tracing the origins of urban legends like Godzilla or the Boogey Man.

The regulars then realized that though he didn't realize or acknowledge it himself, their darling vice captain had nothing short of a little sister complex. Or, rather, it wasn't exactly a _complex_, per say – but more the protective instincts of a raging mother kangaroo, towards a child they regarded as their biological own.

There was no way in fucking hell any of them would want to have anything to do with such a potential bomb. That would be suicide.

"Of course, I'd trust Seiichi with the task the most-"

The ever-smiling captain seemed to stiffen, ever so slightly.

"-but I don't want to divert his attention from running the team at all."

Yukimura relaxed. Sanada silently added that as of late, with a certain soccer junkie running around and sapping enough of his attention, his friend and captain couldn't afford any other distractions.

"What about Renji?" Yukimura offered helpfully, a painfully innocent smile twisted on his lips. Said boy turned peaceful, closed eyes upon their captain. _Damn you Seiichi._

"Ah, I'm afraid that I've already agreed to tutor some of Takamura-sensei's failing Calculus students – and I wouldn't want to provide your little sister any less than the _full devotion_ that she deserves," Renji murmured, smoothly. Sure, he would now have to go and offer his tutoring services to Takamura-sensei (an offer that most certainly wouldn't be rejected), but he'd rather tutor dumb math kids than enter a minefield unarmed.

Yukimura sent Renji a benevolent smile. _Very nice, Renji_.

The data master smiled serenely back. _Thank you._

Jackal watched the silent exchange between two of the three demon generals with apprehension. Because after those two, the most responsible of the regulars would be-

"Jackal."

-himself. Shit.

"…I learned tennis in _Brazil_, Genichiro."

A pause.

"I don't think your little sister wants to learn tennis the way we do in _Brazil._"

Marui silently cursed Jackal's natural excuse – it always seemed like he could get out of _everything_ because he wasn't from Japan, that fucking immigrant. Goddamn.

"You're right," Sanada agreed.

That left- he glanced momentarily at Niou, and easily crossed _that _option out. Niou seemed to realize this, and grinned charmingly. "I'd always love to help," he offered, knowing full well that there wasn't a chance in frozen hell that Sanada would entrust his darling little sister to him.

Sanada hardly spared the offer a bat of his eye. He momentarily pondered Yagyuu – but then, Yagyuu was the boy who managed to be doubles partners with _Niou_, and that never ended well.

That left-

Marui seemed to sense this danger the way a gazelle noticed a lion's gaze fixing upon it as tonight's dinner, and sprang first. "How about Akaya? I mean, they're in the same grade, aren't they? I'm sure Hanako would be much more comfortable with someone her own age."

Kirihara paled.

_Sorry, Akaya_.

Immediately, the second years chorused in agreement, cheerily. Better Akaya, than any of them.

Sanada contemplated this momentarily, before nodding in affirmation. "Akaya. If you would, please."

And though it was a request, fuku-buchou had used _that_ tone, that meant that it wasn't really a request. Kirihara pasted on a shaky smile on his lips. "S-Sure, fuku-buchou. Anything for you."

Sanada nodded. Yukimura smiled. Niou snickered. Marui offered a consolatory piece of gum.

* * *

He was Kirihara Akaya – the youngest, and only second year to have ever made the regulars team in Rikkai Dai's junior high division. Presently, still the youngest, but his senpai had made it to the regulars in their first year of advancing to high school, so he was no longer the 'only.' He was the junior ace. The demon seed. The wild card, the devil, the _badass_ of Rikkai high.

Sure, he was easily reigned in by Sanada-fukubuchou and Yukimura-buchou (along with all the senior members), and since they didn't really like him getting into trouble, he managed to keep himself in check most of the time. But he was still easily the most badass freshman in school, and nobody fucked with him, not without having some sort of a death wish.

Oh, alright, so he was actually plenty more nice than his devil mode may have inferred, but nobody had to know that. He secretly reveled in all the badassery, after all.

He strolled the halls of the school knowing that when girls looked at him, they fawned and gushed over his 'cool' factor, and when boys did, they either fell to the ground right alongside their female counterparts, or died slowly in envy of what he had.

He was so scary, that he could boast about how he ate cute, adorable puppies for breakfast, and everybody would believe him.

He didn't goddamn tutor weak girls in tennis.

He'd never agree to such a thing, and even less, given that it was _Sanada fuku-buchou's little sister._ Should anything go wrong, Sanada fuku-buchou would kill him – literally. With a mournful whimper, he burrowed his arm into his arms, and tried to ignore the snickers of Marui and Niou.

Some senpai they were.

* * *

That day, Hanako returned home, satisfied with the parfait in her stomach and the new hairpin she'd purchased on the way back. It was a Saturday, and since they didn't have school tomorrow, she assumed that her brother wouldn't mind too much that she came home in the evening.

She toed off her shoes haphazardly in the doorway, as usual, and strolled in, with the full intent of starting dinner– she supposed that her brother had gotten over that ridiculous tennis tutor idea of his, and she could start cooking again, so that they didn't have to eat oddly colored foods.

But when she arrived in the living room, she dropped her bag with a small squeak.

It was that boy.

The scariest boy she'd seen on the courts, that day – even scarier than her own brother.

The boy who'd had red eyes and a wild gleam to his smile-

The devil.

He was sitting on their couch, flipping through the channels with a careless flick of the wrist, looking as though he _belonged_ there. Hanako continued to stare through wide eyes and parted lips, a growing horror flickering in her chest-

-the boy noticed her at last, and drifted a bored gaze up and down.

"Yo."

Hanako's lips parted further, only to fail at producing a sound.

Kirihara frowned lightly. What was _wrong_ with her? Perhaps, he mused, living a lifetime with Sanada fuku-buchou had rendered her a little mentally unbalanced. He wouldn't blame her if it did.

"Close your mouth. You look like a fish," he snickered.

At last, Hanako seemed to regain her voice. "What- Where's nii-san?" She managed to say, arms hanging helplessly at her side, as though she weren't quite sure what to do.

"Wha- who?" Kirihara paused. Oh, right. "Sanada fuku-buchou? I'unno. He said he had to buy some more eggs."

Hanako momentarily rolled her eyes. Right. Like she'd allow them to eat green eggs for another day- And then: "…Um. Okay." It struck her as odd, that nii-san would bring over one of his teammates, then just leave to buy eggs. But then again, he rarely brought over guests to begin with.

"Make yourself at home," she muttered out of courtesy, though she could see from his sprawl over the sofa, he'd already done so. She picked up her bag; this was her brother's friend, so she assumed she could go about her business without minding him, much. "I'm sure nii-san will be back soon."

She turned to leave the room, when the boy called out.

"Where are you going?"

Hanako paused, before turning back around to face him. "Um. To my room?"

Kirihara frowned. "Why? Are your rackets there?"

This time, it was Hanako's turn to frown. "…No? I don't- like, tennis rackets? I don't have any."

At that, the boy seemed to gasp, as if it were some horror that she didn't. Hanako fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Kirihara could hardly believe his ears. Of course, he ought to have figured out sooner that Sanada fuku-buchou's little sister probably didn't play tennis, if she was getting a C in P.E., and all (by the way, who got such a low grade in that class, of all things?). Still, he had been a bit too caught up in the unfairness of it all to really think about it.

But now that he did, he was aghast at the idea that fuku-buchou's little sister didn't play tennis. "What do you play?" he asked, then.

Hanako's frown deepened – and in that moment, Kirihara found a strangely striking resemblance between the two siblings' expressions. Huh.

"Uh. I've been taking piano lessons since I was little?" she offered – but then again, most people she knew had taken some sort of instrument lessons.

Kirihara's blank stare made her pause.

"Oh," she said, as if in sudden realization.

Kirihara allowed his anticipation to build up once more. If she was fuku-buchou's little sister, she could very well be some extreme boxing champion – or maybe a kendo specialist? Or, he realized, with a tinge of excitement: what if she was an all-around martial arts genius? _That_ would be seriously cool.

"I played the recorder for my fourth grade recital."

…

…What?

"…Don't you play a sport?" Kirihara grasped at straws.

Hanako made a face. "Ew. No."

Kirihara seemed to have encountered a mental roadblock, because for a few moments, he spluttered. "But- but you're fuku-buchou's little sister!"

At that, Hanako rolled her eyes. "I'm _Sanada Hanako_, not 'nii-san's little sister.' Just because he's some freak element of nature with tennis, doesn't mean that I am, too."

Kirihara gaped for a while longer. "But-"

This time, Hanako crossed her arms in front of her, and with a frown that eerily resembled Genichiro's, cocked her head to one side. "Why are you here, anyway? Did nii-san invite you over to hang out, or something?"

For a moment, Kirihara choked at the idea of being invited to fuku-buchou's house to _hang out._ And then, the confusion settled in. "…I'm here for you," he said, and sat up, scratching the side of his head.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you."

Well, she did, but not really. Though they had been in the same grade in junior high, they'd run in such vastly different social circles, and had been in different classes, that Hanako had never met the boy. But of course, the boys tennis team had _always_ had a large fanbase, no matter the school – so she'd heard snippets of conversation about 'Kirihara Akaya.' But Hanako had forgotten all about it, until she'd returned to Rikkai Dai high school.

Once again, though in different classes and circles, Hanako had heard much about each of the regulars. Kirihara Akaya was no exception.

She'd heard about his nicknames, too.

But she didn't _know_ know him.

And then Kirihara dropped the bomb.

"Didn't fuku-buchou tell you? I'm your tennis tutor."

Images flashed in her head in a scene of déjà-vu. Only this time, it wasn't images of her brother and his monstrous strength – no, this time, it was of the very boy standing in front of her, only with blood-red eyes and sheer white hair and a positively _insane_ look to his eyes-

-the devil, as he was called.

…Oh, _hell_ no.

Her brother had_ not_ found her the one person who managed to land himself a nickname like 'the devil' (who the hell came up with these psychotic nicknames, anyway?) as her tennis tutor.

Hanako's expression slowly morphed to one of horror, and resentment, and everything in between. Once again, her bag dropped limply to the floor as her arms gave way weakly; she stared at Kirihara through wide eyes and pale cheeks.

What was _wrong_ with nii-san?!

"Seriously, are you like- sick in the head, or something? You keep looking like a fish," Kirihara sniped.

She was going to _kill_ nii-san!

* * *

**A/N:** I know, I know. Sorry, it's less plot development than I think you guys were hoping for, but I wanted to set the scene up well for the future chapters! Besides, it's the 'first chapter,' technically, since the last chapter was a prelude. 8D Hehe. Seriously, though: the next chapters will most certainly pick up the pace of the story. C:

In the meantime, check out my two other stories that I'm concentrating on, for now: Rising Ambitions (a YukimuraOC, for which this story is a companion to), and It's All Greek (an AtobeOC). 8D

Thanks, as always, for reading, and you guys know that I adore reviews!

* * *

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